Listen to plenty of productivity gurus, making it simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: more than a band-aid after a bad night’s sleep, but a shortcut towards a better memory, improved mood and perhaps improved athletic performance. Premier League footballers do it regularly – as do concert pianists, mixed martial artists and business leaders. Yet, when you haven’t got a dedicated nap-room or employment that permits daytime sleep, can there *honestly* enough benefits to a burst of shut-eye to justify the effort? Can you find a dependable method to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you will get up feeling refreshed, not worse?
Exploring Your Nap Motivation
“We can identify three main reasons for daytime sleep among most adults,” says a leading sleep and circadian science researcher. “The first is termed recovery napping, that is what happens after experiencing poor sleep the previous night. The second is preparatory napping, which involves pre-empting a sleep deficit coming up, for instance when working on night shifts. Finally, there's “pleasure-based sleep”, which simply comes down to the wish: there is a chance to doze in the afternoon, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The primary task to consider, so, is consider your nap motivation. “Naps can be really helpful when nighttime sleep is disturbed for reasons beyond your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or you’re recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep specialist. “Yet when you nap because your sleep at night seems unreliable or unreliable, that’s often a sign your need for sleep is not as strong as it needs to be. In such situations, napping can become part of the problem, instead of the fix. Use napping as a temporary measure for short-term problems – the priority ought to remain a solid and consistent sleep at night.”
The Perfect Nap Length
Therefore that daytime sleep shouldn’t be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your nighttime sleep, and preferably should not occur in the late afternoon (depending on when you go to bed in the evening). How long is sensible? Recommendations vary. In one of the most referenced research about napping, experts discovered that space travelers experienced up to a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in cognitive performance post a 26-minute snooze (in detail, this included a six-minute sleep onset time). “I’d suggest using an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – many individuals fall asleep within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much recommendations regarding the perfect length for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more anxious above all – and the most counterproductive thing you can possibly do while aiming to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you awaken. “Studies would say it is preferable to take a longer nap lasting 60-90 minutes than a medium-length one,” explains the expert. “45 minutes is long enough to put you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel sluggish when you wake up – whereas if you extend it slightly longer to an hour or 90 minutes, you’re likely to be completing a natural sleep cycle and should wake up feeling more refreshed. Though if you’re sleeping for 90 minutes, it may impact how you sleep in the evening.”
Establishing the Right Nap Environment
When it comes to specific techniques, recommendations vary. Certain specialists suggest employing similar routines you’d use to encourage quality nighttime sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that it's fine to merely snooze in a chair in whatever light happens to be around – to avoid that groggy feeling and to maintain your bedroom as the place your mind associates with proper sleep. “Sleep is notoriously difficult to force,” says a sleep coach. “Lacking any sleepiness, it is tougher to get comfortable and basically command yourself to nod off. There’s got to be some drive there to start the process in the first place. I can usually nap during the day and wake up naturally without an alarm, however, what assists a lot of people is to wait for a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and calmly allow sleep to come.”
Experimentation is key, and when options are scarce – such as, if attempting to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a soundproof office pod – it's acceptable to employ sleep aids. “Coaching elite athletes, I suggest that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
